Let’s hear it for the brave souls at Random House. Their pride in caving in to the fear of Islamofacism is just the sort of slave mentality that will come in handy:

Random House US has said that it has no regrets about pulling out of publication of Sherry Jones’ Islam-inspired romantic novel, The Jewel of Medina, despite the growing controversy about the decision. The news, which broke in the US last week, has led to widespread criticism, and drawn comparisons with The Satanic Verses and the Danish Mohammed cartoons row.

But Stuart Applebaum Random House US spokesman told The Bookseller that the publisher had had “no second thoughts”.

In response to a series of controversies over abortion debates on Canadian campuses, the student government of York University in Toronto has tabled an outright ban on student clubs that are opposed to abortion.

Gilary Massa, vice-president external of the York Federation of Students, said student clubs will be free to discuss abortion in student space, as long as they do it “within a pro-choice realm,” and that all clubs will be investigated to ensure compliance.

You vill be investigated. You vill be “pro-choice”. And if not? Apparently you will be murdered – which is simply choice taken to post-birth.

A Dutch publisher says a well-known political cartoonist has been arrested on suspicion of violating hate speech laws with his work.

A spokeswoman for Uitgeverij Xtra said Friday that the cartoonist who works under the pseudonym Gregorius Nekschot was arrested Tuesday and held overnight before being released.

“He was arrested with a great show of force, by around 10 policemen,” the spokeswoman said. She asked that her name not be used because the cartoonist and publisher have received death threats.

You need 10 cops to round up one cartoonist? What, you couldn’t just send over the local jihadi-boys to complete the process and behead him instead?

Funny – I can’t find anything on the liberal blogs about the outrage at this blatant suppression of free speech. But then its somebody who is criticizing Muslims, so that’s OK. Of course if it had been some anti-American Bush-basher they would be up in arms because it matters what you are thinking about whether you should be thrown in jail–this we all know.

Nor in Europe, Africa, Asia, or South America. And all those with Bush Derangement Syndrome who blather on prove the point. You can freely speak and write in America – including the most base and egregious slurs against the very President of the country.

One of the critical differences between America and the rest of the west is that America has a First Amendment and the rest don’t. And a lot of them are far too comfortable with the notion that in free societies it is right and proper for the state to regulate speech.

These “human rights” censors started with small fry – obscure websites, “homophobes” who made the mistake of writing letters to local newspapers or quoting the more robust chunks of Leviticus – and, because they got away with it, it now seems entirely reasonable for a Canadian pseudo-court to�sit in judgment on�the content of a mainstream magazine and put a big old “libel chill” over critical areas of public debate. The�”progressive” left has grown accustomed to the regulation of speech, thinking it just a useful way of sticking it to Christian fundamentalists, right-wing columnists, and other despised groups. They don’t know they’re riding a tiger that in the end will devour them, too.